Why rest, recuperation and allowing ourselves to feel good may be an essential part of healing This year my body has been teaching me something that, after nearly forty years as a homeopath, you might think I would know already. Healing takes time. I’ve had a rather tiresome succession of musculoskeletal problems this year — a slipped disc, problems with my back, a troublesome knee and, most recently, an inflamed and swollen foot and big toe. Nothing terribly dramatic. But en

Parents naturally want to protect their children. If your child is struggling, anxious, sensitive, overwhelmed, or neurodivergent, the urge to smooth the path can be almost irresistible. We step in, solve problems, remove obstacles, negotiate with teachers, minimise disappointment, and try to shield them from stress. After all, isn’t that what good parents do? Perhaps. But what if, in protecting children from every challenge, we are also depriving them of something essential?

A woman in her 50's came to see me suffering from severe anxiety, panic attacks and exhaustion. On paper, she understood herself very well. She had spent years reflecting on her life and had undertaken various forms of therapy. She could clearly describe the events that had shaped her. As a child she had been caught in the middle of her parents’ conflict. Her mother would come to her for emotional support and share worries that no child should have to carry. There was violenc